1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to toilet bowl cleaning brush and brush holder combination. More particularly, the invention relates to a toilet bowl cleaning brush with a curved shaft between the brush and the handle which provides for under-the-rim cleaning without reaching into the toilet bowl. The curvature of the shaft also cooperates with a curvature in the wall of the brush holder for securing the brush in the brush holder.
2. Prior Art
Cleanliness in a household is often centered on the sanitary condition of the toilet bowl in the bath room of the house. The cleaning of a toilet bowl, in the bath room, is often considered the task of house cleaning. A brush secured at the end of an elongated handle is usually used for cleaning a toilet bowl. Cleaning chemicals, which are often used when cleaning such bowls, tend to stain the bowls and hard water retained in the bowel usually leaves an undesirable residue in the bowl. The prior art is replete with teachings related to toilet bowl cleaning brushes but fail to address the combined problem of stand-off cleaning and storage of the cleaning brush.
An example of some utility patents issued in the field of the invention are:
U.S. Pat. No. 750,357 issued to Gibbons, Dec""d Jan. 26, 1904
U.S. Pat. No. 1,154,369 issued to Browning Sep. 21, 1915
U.S. Pat. No. 3,225,375 issued to Atkinson, et al Dec. 28, 1965
U.S. Pat. No. 4,025,982 issued to Palmer May 31, 1977
U.S. Pat. No. 5.890,588 issued to Leonard, et al Apr. 06, 1999
U.S. Pat. No. 5,941,379 issued to Barardo Aug. 24, 1999
U.S. Pat. No. 5,984,555 issued to Samad Nov. 16, 1999
U.S. Pat. No. 6,094,765 issued to Askenase Aug. 01, 2000
U.S. Pat. No. 6,134,738 issued to Weber, et al Oct. 24, 2000
European Patent #329,938 issued to Weihrauch Aug. 30, 1989
An example of some design patents that have issued in the related field are:
U.S. Des. Pat. No. 221,506 issued to O""Neil, et al Aug. 24, 1971
U.S. Des. Pat. No. 272,874 issued to Cohen Mar. 06, 1984
U.S. Des. Pat. No. 360,986 issued to Hoagland Aug. 08, 1995
U.S. Des. Pat. No. 394,353 issued to Berti May 19, 1998
The U.S. Pat. No. 750,357, issued to Gibbons, Des""d, on Jan. 26, 1904 teaches a brush for cleaning traps of house tanks, basins and toilet bowls. The brush is attached to a flexible, extendible shaft with a rigid handle at the opposite end of the flexible shaft. The flexible portion is a spring-like element in a flexible tubing. The U.S. Pat. No. 1,154,369 issued to Browning teaches a toilet bowl cleaning brush connected to the end of a flexible, hollow member, which is connected to a ridged tubular member. A movable rod-like extension which passes through the ridged tubular member, is extendible to the base of the brush for straightening the flexible, hollow member. U.S. Pat. No. 3,225,375 issued to Atkinson, et al teaches a cleaning device which has a handle with an angular bend near the end of the shaft defining the handle and a second angular bend at the end thereof. The extension of the second angular bend is a hinged, slip-on head which receives a replaceable brush element. U.S. Pat. No. 4,025,982, to Palmer teaches a device for cleaning toilets in which a flexible plastic material, defined by a plurality of spaced balls in a flexible tubing is connected to a brush, at one end and a handle at the other end. The European patent #329,938 issued to Weihrauch, teaches a brush connected to a shaft and handle with a brush holder. A collar on the shaft cooperates with a slot in the top of the holder to keep the brush suspended in the holder. The U.S. Pat. No. 5,890,588 to Leonard, et al teaches a toilet brush with a sealable storage container which, when a toilet brush is inserted into the storage container may be sealed closed. The toilet brush is a straight handled brush. U.S. Pat. No. 5,941,379 issued to Barardo teaches a toilet bowl cleaning device which includes a straight handled brush and brush head holder. The bolder is a container which contains a cleaning solution into which the brush is inserted. The U.S. Pat. No. 5,984,555 issued to Samad teaches a toilet cleaning brush which has twin heads. One head, of the twin heads, is an extension of the other head, both heads being at the same end of the brush. The handle is defined by an enlargement in the hollow shaft with a movable rod that passes through the hollow shaft. The U.S. patent to Askenase, U.S. Pat. No. 6,094,765 teaches a toilet cleaning rod which includes a straight shaft with a 180 degree bend at one end defining a handle and a 90 degree bend at the other end defining the cleaning tool. U.S. Pat. No. 6,134,738, issued to Weber, et al teaches a toilet cleaning brush which has a handle which includes a journal at one end which accepts a stem of a brush head. This makes the brush head removable from the handle portion of the brush.
The design patent to O""Neil, et al shows a toilet brush and holder in which the holder is a hanger and the brush, which is off-set from the major axis of the handle and extends in a parallel plane, hangs in the holder. The design patent to Cohen, U.S. Des. Pat. No. 272.874 shows a holder and toilet brush combination in which the holder is rectangular with a cutaway face. The brush, a straight handled brush, includes a fade-away back that conforms to the cutaway face of the holder. The design U.S. Des. Pat. No. 360,986, to Hoagland shows a toilet brush handle which includes a straight grip and a dual angled shaft ending in a stud for accepting a brush head. The design patent to Berti shows a toilet bowl brush handle. The handle is straight, rigid, multi bulged and removable from the brush head.
The present invention provides a combination of a toilet bowl cleaning brush and a holder for the brush. The toilet bowl cleaning brush includes a brush head connected to one end of a rigid shaft, the rigid shaft is connected, at its other end, to a bulbous handle: The shaft has a positively curved portion between its ends. The curve in the shaft provides a cleaning brush in which the bulbous handle and the brush head are in different planes with the major axis of the brush head and the major axis of the bulbous handle forming a virtual angle of between 15 degrees and 22 degrees. This permits the holder of the handle of the cleaning brush to work the brush head under the rim of the toilet bowl without the hand holding the cleaning brush breaking the plane of the top of the toilet bowl. In addition, the invention provides a brush holder for securely retaining the brush in the holder while permitting circulation of air substantially around the brush head for drying the brush head. The brush holder includes a circular base, permitting easy insertion of the bolder into an angular corner. A vertical wall, extending from the base, terminates in an internal groove. The wall extends linearly upward from the base, then curves negatively, that is, inwardly over the base. When the cleaning brush is positioned in the holder, with the brush head on the base and the shaft extending upwardly, with the curve of the shaft extending away from the center of the diameter of the base, the shaft of the brush lies in an overhanging groove in the wall of the brush holder, positively holding the cleaning brush in the brush holder, with the bulbous handle extending from the top of the brush holder.
The wall of the brush holder, extending from the base, extends around a portion of less than one half of the circumference of the base. The measurement of the greatest tangent between the edges of the wall is less than the diameter of the circumference on which the wall lies but more than the diameter of the brush head held in the brush holder. The wall of the holder covers a sufficient portion of the brush head to hide the brush head from view while providing sufficient ventilation for the brush head to air out and dry. The circular, flat base has a diameter that is somewhat larger than the diameter of the brush head. Thus, when the brush holder, with the toilet bowl cleaning brush held therein, is positioned in the corner of a room, for example, the bathroom, the brush head of the toilet bowl cleaning brush is hidden from view. This hideaway feature of the combination toilet bowl cleaning brush and brush holder is not addressed in the prior art. The curved shaft on the cleaning brush works together with the curved upper wall and upper groove of the brush holder for securing the brush in the holder and provides off-set cleaning of the rim of a toilet bowl without the necessity of the hand of the person using the toilet bowl cleaning brush breaking the plane of the top of the toilet bowl, while cleaning the toilet bowl. The extent of the wall around a portion of the circumference of the base covers and hides the brush head from view, while permitting adequate ventilation for permitting the brush head to dry out.